


Adventure After Atlantis

by CaraBeatriceGreen



Category: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Mild Language, Minor Violence, My First AO3 Post, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-06-12
Packaged: 2018-02-04 07:40:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1771084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaraBeatriceGreen/pseuds/CaraBeatriceGreen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Milo didn't stay in Atlantis with Kida and went back with to DC instead? A new adventure awaits!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**I do not own Milo Thatch or anything relating to Atlantis. I do however own Astrid Mortlake. Enjoy!**

 

　

　

　

The Adventure After Atlantis

 

　

It was just another day in the life of Milo Thatch. A boring day that is. Compared to all of the action he went through in Atlantis, going back to being a janitor was not nearly as exciting. Especially since he promised Kida he would never prove to anyone of Atlantis’s existance. As he finished mopping the main entry hall of the Smithsonian Institute, Milo looked back on the day he returned to the states. He remembered saying goodbye to Kida and the Atlantians as he helped the crew pack up the narwhale sub to head home. He heard the last words Kida had spoken to him echo through his mind.

"I will never forget you Milo Thatch." she had said.

And in truth he could never forget her. She had been the first person in his life to not think he was absolutely crazy and a great friend. The intercom came on, pulling him away from his reminiscing.

"Thatch?"

"Yes?"

"The boiler’s acting up again, Thatch. We need you to fix it right away."

"Alright." Milo let out a deep sigh, and walked down the hall towards the basement where the boiler was. When he was finished adjusting everything, he gave it a good hit with his wrench. After a loud *clang* it was back in working order.

"Better?" asked Milo.

"Yes." And with out even a ‘thank you’ the man hung up. Milo grumbled something about ‘manners’ under his breath then glanced up at the clock above the chalkboard. It read 6:00pm.

"Well I guess it’s time to go home and feed Fluffy." he said to himself. He packed up his briefcase, changed out of his uniform, and walked up the stairs leading out of his basement office. As he walked out into the hall he heard laughing.

"Oh, great..." he muttered under his breath. He peered around the corner and sure enough a group of directors were nearly doubling over with laughter. When they spotted him their chortles grew.

"Speak of the devil, here comes Mr. Atlantis himself!" one pointed.

"Where’s your evidence now boy?" another ridiculed. ‘Walk it off Thatch. They haven’t seen what you have.’ he thought to himself. ‘Their words should mean nothing to you.’ And yet he felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"What’s the matter Mr. Fix-it? You gonna go cry to momma? Oh that’s right. You don’t have one!" That did it. Milo’s fist collided with the trash-talker’s face, giving him a bloody nose. Another man retaliated by hitting Milo in the knee with his cane. There was a loud crack and Milo’s hands automatically clutched his knee as he cried out in pain. A third man took advantage of this and threw a punch to Milo’s face causing him to fall backwards and land on the hard, tile floor. Blood dripped from Milo’s mouth and he felt a black-eye forming. He tried to get up but, his injured knee gave in and he again found himself on the floor.

"Had enough Mr. Atlantis? Now go scrub the facilities." And with that they walked off, laughing all the way.

Milo noticed his spectacles were not on his face and began blindly feeling for them with his hands. Someone who appeared a blur to Milo picked them up and took his hand. After flipping his hand over she lay them in his open palm. He took them and carefully adjusted them back on his nose.

"Thanks, Astrid." Milo said bashfully. She helped him up and noticed him cringing as he stood.

"What happened to you?" She then noticed the blood on his mouth and his black-eye. "Oh Milo," she sighed. She pulled out her handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from his lips. Astrid repeated her question.

"Don’t worry about it." he replied. She gave him a look that seemed to say, ‘Seriously’. "Well," he began. "I may have gotten into another fight." She stopped him there.

 

"Again! Milo when will you learn to just ignore them?"

"They brought up my mother, Astrid..." Astrid’s expression softened. She knew Milo’s dead parents was a sensitive topic. So she changed the subject.

"Did you start up the Atlantis thing again?" she asked.

"No." he replied. Astrid was not a believer in Atlantis, but she wasn’t a jerk about it either. ‘If only she knew’ he thought.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" She offered.

"I’ll be ok." he said. "G’bye, Astrid."

 

"Bye, Milo." she said smiling. Milo could not help but blush as he smiled back.

Then he limped away without even looking back.

"Damn it, Milo! Get a hold of yourself! She would never fall for a clumsy dork like you!" he quietly cursed to himself. He was so engrossed in talking to himself that he didn’t hear Astrid calling his name. She tried to catch up to him but he had already limped out the door and across the street to his apartment.

　

So what do you think? It’s an idea I’ve had in my head for a long time and I thought why not share it? So R&R. All your reviews keep me motivated! So yeah. Enjoy. Will update soon!

 


	2. Chapter Two

**I do not own Milo Thatch or anything relating to Atlantis. I do however own Astrid Mortlake. Enjoy!**

 

　

Milo looked for his key to his apartment room door. He had checked all his pockets, including the ones on his trench coat. He checked his briefcase. He even checked inside his shoes. He seemed to have everything but his key.

"Damn it! Am I going to have to call the locksmith again?" He cursed and banged his head hard on the door. Though as soon as he did, the door swung wide open, causing him to fall head first on the floor. He hit his bad knee as well and Milo moaned loudly as the pain returned full blast. When it had died down he limped over to the light switch and pulled it. The lights flickered for a moment or two then came on. ‘Home sweet home’ he thought to himself.

The apartment wasn’t much. It had a little kitchen with a bar and bar stools instead of a dining area. There was a small livingroom with a two-seater couch, an end table with a lamp, and an old bookshelf that used to belong to his dad. His bedroom was even smaller than the living room. It had a double bed with a quilt his mom made before she passed away. The windows had matching curtains and there was a tiny dresser that he could barely fit all his clothes in. There was a one-person bathroom that served its purpose when he didn’t have to work on the plumbing (he couldn’t afford to pay someone else to do it). It wasn’t much but it was home.

Milo hung his coat on the coat rack as he walked across the livingroom to the kitchen. He opened up his fridge and found everything but the fruit he bought yesterday had gone bad.

"Great, just great."he muttered. After cleaning out all of the expired stuff and using the bathroom, Milo grabbed an apple and walked over to the kitchen sink to rinse it. As he turned the cold valve, water suddenly burst out of the nozzle and splashed Milo in the face. By the time he turned the water off, the floor was soaked and so was he. Just then, there was a soft knock at the door. Milo splashed through the puddles and opened the door.

"Hi, Mil... Oh goodness! What happened?" Astrid inquired, when she noticed all the water dripping off of Milo.

"The kitchen sink is busted." he said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

 

"Are you going to call someone to fix it?"

"I can’t really afford it. _I’ll_ have to fix it myself." Milo stated matter-of-factly.

"Is anything else broken?"

"Well, no. Not really. But the thing about this place is, if it isn’t broken, it still needs to be fixed." as he said this, he looked down at his wet shoes shamefully.

"Why haven’t you filed a complaint?" Astrid seemed to be full of questions today.

"You have to remember, Astrid. I’m just a janitor. I can’t afford luxuries like lawyers and repairmen. I mean, have you seen the crumby apartment I live in? This place is falling apart!"

"Milo Thatch, _you_ have to remember!" she scolded. "You are a talented linguist; probably one of the best. I mean, you’re only 32 and you’re fluent in every language out there! And not only that; you’re a cartographer as well! Your map-making skills excel those who are 30 years older than you! You’re great enough to be a professor at Stayer University! Quit your job and get another where your true talents can be put to use!"

"I would love to quit my job, Astrid, I really would. But you left out one important detail..."

Milo sighed before continuing. "Everyone thinks I’m crazy because the Atlantis expedition was a failure." How he wished he could tell her the truth. Would she believe him if he did?

"Milo, you are not crazy. A little misguided, maybe. But not crazy." Milo smiled a little at her statement and shivered. He was getting cold from being so wet.

 

"I need to fix the sink and clean up." he said, giving her the cue that she should leave.

"Ok. I’ll see you around." she started to leave, but came back and laid something small on the counter. "Thought you might need your key. It must have fallen out of your pocket when they were bullying you." she said, referring to the directors who beat him up.

"Bye, Milo. Think about my advice, ok?" she waved and then closed the door.

Milo sighed deeply, rubbed his forehead and limped to the kitchen to get started on the sink.

　

　


	3. Chapter Three

**I do not own Milo Thatch or anything relating to Atlantis. I do however own Astrid Mortlake. Enjoy!**

　

It took about 2 hours to get everything done. It turned out that the pipes were so rusted that a few holes had begun to show up. Milo knew the best he could do was take some strips of gauze and duct tape them over the affected areas. He also noticed the grease trap was clogged. He found that a little ironic. Later, when Milo was finished bandaging the pipes, cleaning all the black gunk out of the grease trap, and mopping the floor, he not only was in desperate need of bath but in desperate need of sleep as well. He was exhausted from playing Mr. Fix-it, especially since he had to continue his work at home.

He trudged tiredly to the bathroom, and filled the tub with hot water. After getting out of his soggy, black-spotted clothes, he allowed himself to slowly sink into the steaming water. The bath was quite welcoming and helped calm his stressed-out body. It also numbed his fractured knee, which was very beneficial.

Done with his cleansing, Milo put on some striped boxers and a white muscle shirt. He knew he didn’t need to cover the upper part of his body, but he had his reasons. Ever since highschool, Milo had always been self-conscious about his appearance. Being the class nerd and all had done a lot of damage to his self-esteem. He had no friends. He never had a date for prom. Heck, he never even had a girlfriend. Even in college the only interactions he had had with the opposite sex were when girls asked if they could copy his paper. Sure it wasn’t fair but it was life. And Milo had come to terms with it long ago.

However, on the first day of his new job he met Astrid Mortlake, the curator’s daughter. From then on, he noticed there was something different about her. She never made fun of him or his profession, never asked him for ridiculously, tedious favors, and not once did she treat him with disrespect. That is what made her different. She respected him. And they soon became good friends.

But although she respected him, she did not agree with his ‘proof’ of Atlantis’s existence. He remembered the day the board wrongfully declined his proposal. Right before he began practicing his meeting, she had approached him. But instead of wishing him good luck, something else was said entirely.

"Milo, please don’t do this. You know they won’t believe you. You’ll only be hurting yourself."

"Astrid, this meeting will change my life! With the new proof I’ve found, they’re bound to fund the expedition. I will no longer be the nerdy janitor everyone jokes about. People will finally show me respect."

"Milo, listen. They say if the economy doesn’t get better, within the next 20 years there will be a depression. Which means they cannot fund an expedition without good, solid proof."

"Wait; you mean to say my evidence of Atlantis isn’t good enough? Astrid, I thought you believed me?"

"I’m sorry Milo. But I stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago."

"Atlantis isn’t a fairytale, Astrid! I can prove it!" Milo began to raise his voice.

"Yes it is. It’s just a children’s bedtime story. And all children eventually need to grow up."

"I’m not a child! I’m 32 years old! I can tell when something is real or not! And Atlantis is real!" He was shouting at this point and people were staring.

"Milo, stop! It isn’t cute anymore! Your obsession has gotten way out of hand!"

"I’m not obsessed!" He completely ignored the fact that she had just called him ‘cute’.

"Oh, grow up, Milo!"

"Oh, get a life, Astrid! You’re 25 and you don’t even have a job. You dropped out of highschool sophomore year!" But he immediately regretted his words.

"YOU JERK! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN’T TELL ANYONE!" Tears poured down Astrid’s blushing face. And with that, she ran out the door and didn’t even look back.

Milo knew in his heart that Astrid had a good reason to be angry with him. Her older brother, James, who fought in the Philippine American War, had been badly injured, and was sent home. Doctors had to amputate both legs and told James he was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Their parents both worked full-time jobs, so poor Astrid, who was only a teenager at the time, quit school to take care of her only sibling. And she had been his care giver ever since.

Even though they had both apologized, Milo had never truly forgiven himself. Countless times he would ask himself why he been a total jerk to her. He knew she had only said those things because she cared. _He_ had only said those things because he was being a stubborn pain in the ass about it. He had definitely let his temper get the best of him. Milo knew if he had ever had a chance with Astrid it was long gone.

　

　

Yeah pretty emotional chapter, but at least you get a bit of Astrid’s back story.

Please R&R!

 


	4. Chapter Four

**I do not own Milo Thatch or anything relating to Atlantis. I do however own Astrid Mortlake. Enjoy!**

 

　

That night, Milo couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned, causing the blanket and bed sheets to tangle around his body. At some point, he rolled over too far and fell on the floor, covers and all.

He groaned as he lifted himself up from the floor. "Maybe I should have taken myself to the doctor." He said as he wobbled after standing up. He checked his knee, and noticed it had swelled up and was forming a rather large and nasty bruise. "Not that I would be able to pay for it." he mumbled as he limped to the bathroom. He took a look in the mirror and noticed his eye right away. "Now that is most certainly a shiner." After grabbing two ice packs, he went back to bed to try and get some sleep.

The alarm clock on his bedside table went off at 6:00am. Unfortunately, Milo didn’t wake up until 6:25am. He let out a groan as he pressed down the switch that made the bells stop ringing. Though when he saw what time it was, he immediately pushed aside his exhaustion, and got ready for work, not even allowing himself breakfast.

　

When Milo walked through the doors of the Smithsonian, everyone gawked and stared at him. And because of Milo’s lack of sleep, he responded grouchily.

"What are you looking at?" he asked sarcastically. Everyone pretended to go back to what they were doing, but when Milo wasn’t looking they went back to staring and started whispering among themselves. He then shot them a few nasty glares. That shut them up.

As Milo walked down the hall to the basement, he bumped into the curator, however not literally.

"Are you ok, Thatch? You look as if you were hit by a truck." asked the curator, concerned.

"I _feel_ as if I’ve been hit by a truck, Mr. Mortlake."

"Are you sure you can work today? Maybe you should take the day off."

"I should be ok." Milo responded regrettably. He wanted so bad to go home and rest. But, he knew that if he didn’t work he wouldn’t get payed.

Just then Astrid walked up, smiling brightly. Though when she saw Milo, her smile quickly faded.

"Oh my gosh, Milo. You look awful." She grabbed his hand. "Come on, I’m taking to the doctor."

"Right now? I have work, Astrid."

"Forget it. You’re going, and I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer."

 

*******

 

"So tell me how this happened." said Dr. Richards.

"Well yesterday I got in a fight and my knee was injured. I also received a black eye."

"Have been getting enough sleep?"

"Last night, I couldn’t sleep well." replied Milo.

"Anything else?"

"No. That’s it."

"Very well. We will run a few tests and will x-ray your knee." After all the excruciatingly long tests and an even longer wait, Dr. Richards came back with the results, and a cane. "You are very lucky Mr. Thatch. You only have a small knee fracture. You will only need this cane for about a week. About your black-eye, apply this cream every night before bed. As for your sleep issue, I suggest you go home and get some rest. And no work for a week. Just take it slow until then."

Milo opened his mouth as if to protest, but the doctor held up his hand. "Right now the most important thing is for you to get better." the doctor said.

Milo and Astrid were about to make their way out the door, when Dr. Richards spoke again. "One more thing Mr. Thatch. Our head doctor said you were a good friend of his and he paid for all your medical expenses."

"Who is your head doctor?" Milo asked, suddenly curious.

"Dr. Joshua Sweet."

 

 


	5. Chapter Five

**I only own Astrid Mortlake. Everything else is owned by Disney.**

 

"What’s with you, Milo?" asked Astrid. "You’re acting as if you won the Nobel Prize." But Milo was ignoring her completely.

"I can’t believe it! Sweet is here in D.C.! And I thought I would never get to see the team again!"

Milo continued to ramble, lost in his own world. Astrid waved her hand in his face, bringing him back from his trance.

"Milo, what are you talking about? What team?" Milo was quiet for a moment, debating whether or not he should tell her about his companions on the Atlantis expedition.

"Well, ?" she persisted.

"It’s kind of a long story, Astrid. And I need to get home and feed Fluffy." he said, referring to his pet cat.

"I’ll go with you then. You can tell me the story on the way."

"I’m not in the mood for storytelling at the moment."

"How about when we get to your apartment? Will you be in the mood then?" Milo knew Astrid was not going to give up until he agreed. He let out an annoyed sigh as he rolled his eyes.

"Alright, deal."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Milo unlocked his door and led Astrid into the living room. He gave the light switch a good pull and sparks showered from above.

"Aw damn it! The lightbulb burnt out." he cursed, stating the obvious. "I know I have some replacement bulbs around here somewhere. Be right back." He went to the kitchen to retrieve a new bulb from the cabinet above the fridge. Having long skinny arms had it’s advantages for even though he was short, it didn’t take much stretching to get the package down from it’s place.

"Do me a favor and pull the switch again. I don’t feel like getting electrocuted" he said to Astrid. She did as she was told and Milo replaced the bulb. The light flickered on after he pulled the switch again. Astrid sat down on the couch and waited for Milo to begin his story. But first, Milo took a framed picture from the bookshelf and brought it over to show her. It was a photo of the crew he met on his journey that eventually became his life-long friends. Sad to say though, after they returned from Atlantis, the team went their separate ways. Milo explained this to Astrid as she quietly listened, however laughing at some parts. He told her about each of them, and of the adventure they had shared. Of coarse he had to lie about certain parts, but most of what he said was true. He knew could never forget them.

"So do you still talk to them?"

"I still receive letters from Audrey once and a while. Vinnie too. Cookie mails me all sorts of recipes with grease as the main ingredient."When he said ‘grease’, Milo made a disgusted face, and Astrid laughed a little. "Mrs. Packard calls me sometimes though when she does, she doesn’t seem to know the meaning of ‘bye’. She will talk non-stop if you let her. I haven’t heard from Sweet since about a month ago, but I can understand why; he is a doctor after all. And I bet he wanted to surprise me with the fact that he was in town."

"Not much of a surprise anymore is it?" She was being sarcastic of coarse. He shook his head as his mind began to reminisce. He didn’t realize that tears were streaming down his face. "What’s wrong?" Astrid’s voice broke the silence and brought Milo back to the present.

"Nothing. I must have something in my eye." he lied at first but spoke again. "I really miss them. They were like a family to me."

"It will be alright. They will always be in your heart and memories."

"Jeez, Astrid. They’re not dead. They’re just..." Milo trailed off. Astrid glanced at the clock on the wall.

"It’s getting late. I better go home, and make dinner for my brother." she stated. She walked to the door. "Bye, Milo. Thanks for telling me about your friends."

"Bye, Astrid." Astrid left and Milo was alone. He heard a soft meow and looked down to see his cat. "Well, I guess it’s dinner time, eh Fluffy?" He walked to the kitchen to prepare a meal for himself and his pet.

　

　

　


	6. Chapter Six

 

　

Since he could not go to work for a while, Milo decided he would catch up on his reading. He always wanted to read the Jules Verne books his grandfather had given him. As he was reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, he realized how much similarity there was between the book and his own journey he had experienced two months ago. He discovered that most of the stories by the author seemed to relate to his adventure in many ways. It was almost as if the books were about him. Creepy.

By the time he had finished reading the collection, his knee was fully healed and it was time to ditch the cane and go back to work. His vacation was over.

***

 

"Why good morning, Mr. Thatch. I see your eye has returned to it’s normal coloring. And your knee must be healed as you are no longer using the cane."

"I’m feeling better, that’s for sure. How have you been, Mr. Mortlake?"

"Just fine. Well I suppose I should get back to work. Goodbye, Mr. Thatch." And they walked to their working stations.

Milo strolled over to his locker and used his combination on the padlock. The locker was not in the best of shape. It had blue paint peeling off and was covered with dents and scratches. However, it served its purpose. He finally got it open and took his uniform off its hanger. He undressed and stepped into the legs of the jumpsuit. After pulling the zipper up to the top, he folded the collar and fastened the belt around the middle. Lastly, he pulled on his work-boots. As he hung up his regular clothes, he glanced at the personal touches he had added to his locker. There was a photo of him and his grandfather, some vacation pictures, and the crystal necklace given to him by Kida. He slipped it over his head and held it up to his face. It still glowed a bright blue and he immediately became mesmerized.

The phone rang, and woke Milo from his trance. He closed his locker and rushed to answer it.

"Thatch."

"Yes, Mr. Simmons?"

"Some kid threw-up near the caveman exhibit. Go clean it up!"

"Yes, Mr. Simmons." Milo hung up. "It just _had_ to be puke." Milo grumbled. "Ugh, oh well. Duty calls." He grabbed the mop and bucket from the supply closet and walked up the stairs leading out of the basement, not even realizing that the crystal was still hanging around his neck.

***

Milo was just finished cleaning up the vomit, when Mr. Harcort caught sight of him. He was carrying a slice of cake and a cup of coffee.

"Well if isn’t young Thatch."

"What do you want Mr. Harcort?"

"Is that anyway to speak to the head director?" Mr. Harcort asked boastfully. "How about we try some manners this time?"

"What can I do for you, sir?" Milo spoke through clenched teeth.

"Well for starters, you can clean this up." And he dumped the cake and coffee onto the area where Milo had just mopped. Mr. Harcort laughed and pointed at the mess.

"Whoops, looks like you missed a spot. Better get to work." This angered Milo quite a bit. However, he did his best to keep his cool. He began cleaning up the sticky goop, and tried to ignore the chuckling moron. But Mr. Harcort was far from finished. As soon as he spotted the glowing crystal hanging from Milo’s neck, his laughter grew.

"Say Thatch, where’d you get the rock?" Instantly, Milo looked down and realized that he had never taken off his Atlantian pendant. "It’s awfully pretty. Must be a diamond. Did you steal it?" Milo didn’t answer. Instead, he hastily tried to tuck it inside his uniform. "Ah, so a janitor’s pay isn’t good enough for you. Well, you do know I was told to report any thief who dared to steal from the museum. And you made such a good little janitor, Thatch."

Milo panicked. What was he going to do? As much as he hated it, he didn’t want to lose his job. Or go to prison for that matter.

"Please, don’t tell anyone! I could get arrested for grand theft! They’ll really think I stole it!"

"But you did steal it. Why should I let you get away with such thievery?"

"Because I’m telling the truth. It was given to me by...a very good friend of mine."

"Oh, really? And who would that be?"

"Me." They looked around to find where the voice came from. Their eyes fell on Astrid Mortlake. She stepped towards Milo.

"Astrid, what are you doing?" Milo half whispered half shouted.

"Saving your rear." she replied.

"Young lady, what on earth are you talking about?" Mr. Harcort interrupted.

 

"I gave him the diamond, sir. It was a gift."

"And where did you find such a diamond?"

 

"I bought it from..." Milo watched helplessly as their conversation escalated. He couldn’t believe Astrid was lying for him. Finally, Mr. Harcort cleared his throat.

"Very well. If what you say is true, then I see no reason to have you arrested. Good day, Ms. Mortlake." And he walked off. Astrid turned to Milo, with a disappointed look on her face and her arms crossed.

"You better have a good explanation behind this, Milo Thatch." Milo sighed deeply.

"Astrid, it’s time I told you what really happened on that expedition."


End file.
